Exposing pro-Israel bias, propaganda, disinformation and spin in Australia's mainstream media. Monitoring pro-Israel influence in Australia's public and political arena.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Brownlee Blinked First

Remember Netanyahu recalling Israel's ambassador to New Zealand following that country's vote in support of SC resolution 2334 (23/12/16), which declared Israeli settlements "a flagrant violation of international law"?

Well, that vote took place under the watch of National Party foreign minister Murray McCully, who has decided he's not standing for re-election this year. (Could his decision, perhaps, have had something to do with resolution 2334?)

As of May 2, McCully's place as foreign minister has been taken by Gerry Brownlee, who, for reasons which elude me, seems to be in an awful hurry to mend fences with the obnoxious leader of the apartheid state:

"I sent [Netanyahu] a letter yesterday afternoon," he said, "expressing a desire to get the relationship back on track, to recognise that we have had an incidentthat has caused a problem and proposing that we have a process for getting full diplomatic representation back in place and reasserting that New Zealand has been a long-term friend of Israel." (New foreign affairs minister Gerry Brownlee knee-deep in restoring relations with Australia and Israel, stuff.co.nz, 3/5/17 )

Interestingly, according to Israel's Haaretz, Australia's PM Trumble had raised the matter of the Israel/NZ rift with Netanyahu, who then proceeded to improve on his demented accusation that, in voting for the resolution, NZ had actually declared war on Israel with an insistence that the country move first to repair the damage - in a word, grovel:

"Western diplomats told Haaretz that during Netanyahu's visit to Australia some months ago, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull advocated ending the breakdown in relations with New Zealand. Netanyahu clarified that New Zealand would have to take the first step and make a gesture towards Israel." (New Zealand's new foreign minister wants to end diplomatic crisis with Israel, Barak Ravid, 3/5/17)

Haaretz continued:

"Mere hours after Brownlee was sworn in, he made his first official decision and sent the letter to Netanyahu. 'I've sent a letter to Mr Netanyahu... firstly congratulating them on their national day but expressing a desire for the Israeli-New Zealand relationship to get back on track and to do that by recognizing that we've got synergies and innovation and agriculture and various other things like that,' Brownlee told the New Zealand Herald. He added that he believes the letter will enable the foreign ministries of Israel and New Zealand to start talks ahead of resuming diplomatic relations, saying he would like the crisis to end by October, when Israel will be marking the 100th anniversary of the battle for Be'er Sheva [sic] during World War I - a battle in which Australian and New Zealand soldiers met their deaths."

Which makes one wonder: surely Brownlee was not so desperate to participate in Israel's appropriation of Anzac history to serve its own ends that he decided to blink first?